Snow...

forecasters are predicting between 6 to 10 inches of snow tomorrow evening. Wow.... that is a lot of snow. Hopefully, for me, that means no work on Monday, I would love to be snowed in and be able to just lounge all day. That would be nice. I guess we just have to wait and see.

On the road...

So I am sitting here at my parent's house and realized I had not updated my blog all day. Thanks to this nice computer my mom has (which is also my old computer, MercJr) I decided to get online and add some comments.

It has been requested that I talk about my job a little more and what I am doing etc. I am working at the College of Business Administration (CBA) at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in the ITS department. I am the Help Desk Manager and Printer Support Specialist. I have recently moved offices and now spend at least 75 percent of my time actually manning the Help Desk. The rest of the time is spent repairing printers, in meetings, and doing some tier 2 tech support as needed. Recently I have taken on a temporary position with UNL's main IS department to help with printer support problems, the main printer repair guy is out for surgery. I am working with another printer repair person from the chemistry department. I have only been doing this for a few days now, and it is nice to go out and see new faces, help new people, etc.

There have been some ups and downs recently with this job. I was to the point where I was ready to quit but I am glad that I did not. I think that quitting when things get tough won't help me suceed, but just teaches me that giving up is easier. I think actually working through the problems will be more benefical for my well being, even if there are times when I feel completely insane about the job. Such is life though. I guess this is all part of getting old.

pheeeeeeew

Heater works... that is good.. it is so freaking cold now... 36 degrees... I can't believe we were getting sunburnt and sweaty on Wednesday... crazy Nebraska weather..

Early Friday Morning.....

I wake up and eat waffles.... mmm.. waffles. I wish I actually had waffles to eat, but I don't. I don't have time to make pancakes either, which come a close second to waffles. Pancakes dripping in warm syrup... mmm. Anyone else hungry yet? Let's all go to IHOP!! mmm.. Never ending pancakes.....

So I am going to do my first official morning of printer repair for UNL today. It is weird the things I am worrying about because they are so irrational. So here is a breakdown of my worries and their corresponding reasons why they are irrational.

1. The printer repairs themselves, I don't know what I'm doing. - I DO know what I am doing, I've been doing it for almost a year and a half now, I should really be able to tell certain details and I know where to troubleshoot things. The only difference is I order parts from somewhere else.
2. Having to call to order parts. - This isn't even a good irrational fear, they have been calling this company for so long that all I have to do is tell them what part I need, nothing else. Plus they have a tech guy that can help me figure out what the part I need is.
3. Answering the printer repair phone, what will I do, how do I do that? - Umm. I work at a Help Desk, I sure hope I've learned how to answer the phone and take requests by now. Get the name, get their number, get the building, model of printer and exact problem. Piece of cake my friends.
4. Driving the car and getting lost - Ok, driving the car is not a problem, but I may get a little lost from time to time, but I have a map and the area isn't that big, it's not like I'll be delivering pizza to half of Lincoln or anything.
5. Neat... there is no number 5 that I can think of right now.

Well... wish me luck! Peace.

Project Review

So I am beinging the journey of what could be the coolest project I've been involved with in a long time.... C-Bob and I have decided to start a web deisgn company and make webpages for local businesses that do not currently have websites, but should. The company is called Evil Duo Web Design The site is not live yet, but Bob is working on it... wooo... I am in charge of graphic design things and some of the less fun business end... Bob is in charge of web layout, design and the likes...

ergamem

(the title is not a word, just a sound...)

Why do I do stupid things? Ugh. Morning... sucks.

Halo..

Halo is the best game ever!! C-Bob and I just spent a lot of time running around killing each other, it was sweet. We ate tacos.. and drank.. i really shouldn't drink... but I do. It is really hot right now... I want A/C... *sigh*... it was over 80 in here earlier... *swelter*... There does seem to be a breeze picking up... but maaaan...

The worst part is that I don't have any real sheets, just flannel... bah.... tired. I'm tired... and um.... not not drunk..... but not drunk.... whatever that means...

Fun in the Sun

(*sigh* retyping this)
It was a nice day today, sun was out, life was great. I did nothing at work and I kind of feel bad, but not that much. Sometimes I can just be really lazy. Over lunch we went and played frisbee, which was really fun. It was great when the guy came to mow the lawn in front of CBA while we were playing, did we stop? no. We worked around him and it only almost hit him a few times. One time we were sure it was going to it him, but it hovered just right and missed him.

Hanging out with C-Bob tonight, eating tacos and sitting on the balcony, this is what good weather for. Later Peeps!

On things...

I went out tonight, to get gas and to generally be away from home for awhile. I went and bought gas somewhere new today, and only paid $1.45 a gallon, so that was a plus. Cheapest I had seen so far was $1.49, so $1.45 was cool. It wasn't too far from my house, so it was worth the drive. After I filled up the gas tank I decided I wanted to go somewhere, but I wasn't really sure where. I decided that I hadn't been to Barnes and Noble in a long time, so I drove from the gas station to there. I debated stopping for ice cream when I passed the ice cream place, but I was too full at the time. That is twice today that I have thought about ice cream but been too full to actually want any.

So I go into Barnes with the goal of simply wandering around and seeing what was there. I enjoyed the smell of coffee and debated a cappucino, but decided against on the grounds that I was still full and I had no cash. I have not been to the north Barnes in a long time so I was disorientated, it is arrange almost the exact opposite of the south store. I wanted to get the newest Dilbert book, so I went to the back of the store, where they used to be, only to discover they had been moved to the front of the store. I got that book fine and decided to go wandering.

I walked past the religion books, the new age books, looked at some of the current events books too. I was looking for this one Micheal Moore book but they only had "Downsize This" and his newest book, which apparently just came out. I checked out the history books and saw one titled "George W. Bush, The Suprise Presidency." Yea, suprised is he president. I think the book was pro-Bush though, I didn't stop to look at. I then spent a lot of time looking at the writing books and making mental notes of books to try and find at the library. Unless it was a book I wanted to reference all the time, it is better to get them from the library.

After that I headed to the other side of the store and checked out the computer books. As I was passing the web design books I thought, "Do they have a book about not making webpages that suck?" Of course they have that one book, "Webpages that Suck" but that's not what I meant. I barley glanced at the computer books tonight though, I have plenty of them, don't read them, so I don't need more. I scanned the cookbooks and realized I would never use most of the recipies because I don't like complicated foods, and I don't like a lot of stuff. I like simple, plain meals and I'm not big into cooking meat. I consider instant mashed potatoes to be a perfect meal.

The next section is where a lot of my thoughts started springing from. I hit the ever popular self-help section. You know the one with books written by those people that try to fix other people's problems in an hour or less on tv. I call it the "Dr. Phil Syndrome." As I was looking at these books all I could think was, "I sure hope the answer to my problems can't be found in some book because I like to think my life is a bit more complicated than that that can be summed up in 250 pages of babble."

As I neared the end of my shopping adventure I spotted a little book titled Lucky Wander Boy and was interested mainly by the cover photo. Turns out this book was written for me, I swear it had to have been. Read the webpage about it and you will understand why.

I am now pretty tried and think I should probably get some sleep. I hope you all have a good evening!

New Cell Phone...

I got my work cell phone today, so I'm playing with it. It's nothing fancy but it works... just need to learn how to use it. It is a Kyocera 1135... the battery needs charging.... I just got something to play around with now...

No A/C

So the compressor is bust-a-cated.... and they won't be able to get out and repair it until next week. So no A/C for me. I am getting a new furnace though, which I guess is nice. I think it is going to cool off, it better anyway... it's 84 right now. People go without A/C all the time.. I need to not wuss out... my fan will just have to work overtime

Heat...

It is a nice... 88 degrees right now.... *sigh*

I got home from work and there was this post-it-note stuck to my door. "I was in to check the air conditioner today, the fan on the compressor outside was always running. Could you give me a call at your convienece? - The LandLady." So the A/C was shut off, and I couldn't get a hold of her. I don't know if these means I can't use the A/C or what... so I am going without it seems as I await her call back. So I will keep you updated. Got the windows open and my megafan running near the computer, so MercX doesn't get cranky as he is wont to do.

April Fool...

so today is April First, the day of fools.. they day to play jokes and otherwise annoy people.... to be honest, I like the idea of pratical jokes in theroy, but in practice, they can really backfire. You have to pick the target well, it has to be someone that won't get mad. I'm not fond of jokes that make someone else looked stupid or feel stupid. I think jokes where you hide something or things like that are ok, but overall I don't enjoy them happening to me. So we will have to see if anything goes down today, but we have never needed a special day to do jokes on each other, so this shouldn't be much different. So go out there today and watch your back.....

Remember... Ashcroft is watching you.

wowzers..

The high today is supposed to be 87!!... what happened to spring?????

13

Something...

I really wanted to say something profound... but I'm tired... don't lose hope on me though, I've probably got lots to say later... just right now... sleep is all I'm thinking of...

why????????

*hicup* *hicup*

gonna die.....

Mucho Better-ito

This day has become much better than I imagined it could be... now that I realized what a jerk I was being... I can move on and work towards solutions instead of compounding the problem.... plus.. the weather is wonderful... sunny and 80.... good sitting outside weather.. I can't wait to go home... 10 mins!!

WOOoooOoOOOOOoooOOOooOO!

Maybe it is me...

who knows.. maybe part of my problems are me... maybe most of them.... I just don't know anymore. All I know is that I just don't know.... and I'm not happy right now. *sigh*

Testing...

something isn't working about the page...

12

Changes....

I can feel the pressure and shifts that are beginning to speak of changes coming... things in my life are going to change, I'm just not sure when. I am no longer as happy at work as I used to be. I used to really enjoy going to work, and to some extent I still do, but there are other, more major parts, that I can no longer stand. Case in point being a certain co-worker who said things on Friday that, looking back, really make me mad. I mentioned it below, but how do I work with someone that believes that? How can I ever trust him as a co-worker again? Maybe this job just isn't for me anymore. The thought of finding a new job and leaving is scary. I would miss most of the people a lot, they are all pretty much great. I just feel like I'm not paid nearly enough to have to put up with all this. It's not good for me and my brain is telling me to keep looking. I don't want to set myself behind for people who seem to have no respect for me. As they said in the movie Office Space, "Why should I change? He's the one that sucks."

I don't know if I even want a desk job anymore. In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't. But what does that leave for me to do? I want to try writing, as a career. I could start out freelance and try to get something permanent. I think keeping this blog has really helped me re-discover my hidden writing strengths and makes me question the road ahead. Freelance isn't a wonderful career really, the pay is awful for the most part. There are some bigger outfits that pay more, but they are hard to get published in. I figure I can start this out as a side job and work to get myself established. After that I guess you just go for it. There are a lot of things to consider with this though, like insurance and etc, that all costs money if you don't have someone to provide it to you. For what it is worth, I just go back to something C-Bob told me a long time ago, "You just make it work."

Looks like it is time to go to work. I am planning on meeting with my boss and laying all this out for him. That I feel like I have an anchor tied to my leg and I have two choices, I can keep pulling it along as it gets heavier and heavier, or just give up and drown. I don't want an anchor, no one should have to have one. This is were my feelings of underapprication come from. I'm just not sure I have the energy to go through this again only to fail. I feel betrayed, let down, and over-worked. I work too many hours there for the benefits I'm getting.

Peace.

11

Wooo Ya...

So the party was happening.. the guests... Tony and Sheri (they brought yummy mexi-dip), Susan and Nick (they brought pizza rolls and Sprite), Frankie (brought chips) and Bob (brought Vodka.. best gift ever.. mmm). So of course... vodka.. yea... I made oj, I had two or three... i think two, but I don't remember if I made a second one right away or not.. anyway.. I'm not in full capicity right now... but not awful... yea...

The wrestling was alright... I'm still not a huge fan or anything, but I didn't completely hate it. We had food and stuff and it was good. At least I'm at home.. so I don't have to go anywhere to go to bed... too bad about work tomorrow... I'll make it though....

Sometimes when I think about work it bums me out cuz parts of it really suck. Had a meeting with my boss and co-worker friday and there was yelling and stuff said that I hope was due to the stress of the situation and not reality. But the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Anyway, me and this co-worker have to learn how to communicate and co-manage together or both of us could be cut from our jobs, which would suck. This is not going to be easy for me and I'm not sure it will be worth the trouble, I may just have to keep my eyes open for another job. According to my co-worker he is "the only one with a good work ethic", "only thinks and talks about work" and says we are all working in a "ethical cess pool" and I have to try and work with him. *sigh* I wish he would just go away.

Well I think I'm going to go to bed soon. Night!

Shopping..

I went to HyVee this afternoon to get provisions for the festivities tonight... and it was crazy there.. it's a wonder people didn't die. They were doing some kind of mass store price check and inventory and they had people all over the store. Most of them were teenagers, so probably people's kids and stuff, but it was so insane. And then there were a ton of people shopping too, so that made it a mess. I was really annoyed by the groups of people that just stopped in front of the milk and stood there like it was going to change or something... argh.... but I made it home fine, so that's good. I was going to get gas for my car, but I guess I'll do that later... or something..

Cleaning...

woo.. I've been cleaning.. it is so much.... fun.... *shrug*

Google..

so my site is finally listed on google... and great... so it's the old site and everything is wrong... *sigh*

Morning..

Just wanted to stop by and say good morning to all my readers... all... 2 of you... thanks for the support! :)